


The Meowtch-Maker

by bladespark



Category: CyberSix
Genre: Fluff, Genderqueer Character, Matchmaking, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-05
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-18 02:55:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29851506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bladespark/pseuds/bladespark
Summary: Data Seven has eyes, a nose, and a brain.  Sometimes it feels like his sister doesn't have any of those.  She likes Lucas, Lucas likes her.  Lucas like Adrian, her male alter-ego, too.  So they should definitely be together.  Data Seven sets out to make that happen.
Relationships: Lucas Amato/CyberSix | Adrian Seidelman
Kudos: 4





	The Meowtch-Maker

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Yagi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yagi/gifts).



> Tagged with GQ Cybersix, because even though I use "she" when they are in their Cybersix alter-ego, they are definitely not a binary person!
> 
> Written for a swap where the mod stopped replying to me, so I dunno what happened. Posting it now because Cybersix fandom can use all the fics it can get!

“Okay, okay, you big lunk. I get the idea!” Cybersix’s words were scolding, but her tone was amused and she was smiling as Data Seven nudged her yet again. She let him herd her down the street, drawing more than a little attention as the unlikely pair—dramatic, black-clad woman and even darker black panther—made their way along. It was a Friday night, and so the streets were busy for the late hour as people celebrated the week’s end.

No doubt a few of the revelers would write off the strange sight as a consequence of too much drink, but by now Cybersix and Data Seven were at least known, if not familiar, to many, despite their habit of sticking to the rooftops.

Whatever Data Seven wanted, though, must be at ground level. He continued to herd her along, and she let him, curious what he was up to.

Eventually he circled around her, stopping her progress and then nudging her towards an apparently ordinary cafe. It was busy but not packed, mostly full of couples out on the front patio, dining in the mild air of a summer’s evening. The hostess’ eyes got very wide as she looked at the pair who’d halted directly in front of her little podium. Cybersix gave a little cough. “Ah, sorry, I’m just pass—eeep!” Data Seven had nipped her elbow sharply. She looked down at him. He chuffed, and jerked his nose towards the cafe.

“Here? But…why? I don’t understand.”

The hostess, a girl who couldn’t be more than seventeen, gathered what must be considerable courage—and considerable composure, and said, “Table for two?”

Data Seven immediately nodded enthusiastically.

Immensely confused, but still willing to go along, Cybersix shrugged and said, “I guess so.”

The brave young lady led the two to a small table, towards the edge of the patio area, set two menus down at it, and gave an obviously rote recitation about specials, ending with, “Your waitress will take your drink orders in just a minute,” before heading back to her podium.

She’d barely turned around when Data Seven rose again, and patted his paw insistently on the pavement. This was part of a simple sign language the pair had developed. It meant something like “Stay here.”

Cybersix gave him a look, puzzled and intensely curious. “You’re leaving? And you want me to wait?”

He nodded, and before she could even come up with a response he’d made a tremendous leap upwards, to the roof of the cafe, and was gone.

Cybersix looked after him for a long moment, before looking back to see the waiter approaching. She had no idea what her brother was up to, and she’d never eaten at a cafe as Cybersix, only as her alter ego, Adrian, but if Data Seven wanted her here, she’d stay here, at least until something else came up.

So when the waiter reached the table she ordered a drink and sat back to wait, hoping that it wouldn’t be long before she found out what her brother was up to.

****

Lucas Amato trudged down the street towards his apartment building. He wasn’t physically tired, but he felt like it had been a long day all the same. He was almost to the door when a dark shape dropped from above, landing directly in front of him.

He froze for an instant, heart pounding, before recognizing Data Seven, the panther that Cybersix strangely called her brother.

“Just about scared the life out of me there,” he said to the cat.

Data Seven made a rumbling sound, and squinted his eyes in a way that suggested a smile. Then he took the sleeve of Lucas’ coat in his teeth and tugged, gently but very firmly.

“Oh. You want me to come with you?”

Data Seven gave a half-nod, sleeve still in his jaws, and tugged again, harder this time.

“Okay, you don’t have to yank me over.” Lucas started moving. Data Seven let go of his coat and trotted nonchalantly down the street.

“Is this something bad, is Cybersix in trouble?”

The panther looked back over his shoulder and shook his head.

A tension Lucas hadn’t quite realized he’d been holding went out of him. “That’s good. What’s going on, then?”

Data Seven actually rolled his eyes, then started forward again. Lucas laughed and followed.

It wasn’t long before they arrived at a little cafe, where Lucas was only mildly surprised to find Cybersix, hat, cape, and all, sitting in a chair and sipping a drink. She looked up when he approached, her eyes widening in surprise. Then she smiled. “Lucas! Did this fuzzy lunk drag you here too?”

Lucas blinked. “He did, yes. This wasn’t your idea?”

She shook her head, and for some reason her cheeks went pink. “No, not at all. I guess he, ah, thought we… Er…”

Lucas felt himself flushing too. This setup seemed an awful lot like a date. He wasn’t going to put that thought into words, though. “We needed some relaxation, I guess?”

“Yes, that!” Cybersix looked relieved, which sent an odd little pang through Lucas. He didn’t want her to be relieved at the idea that this wasn’t a date.

A loud snorting sound interrupted them both, and they looked at Data Seven. Nearly all the other patrons of the cafe were looking too, even the ones trying to look like they weren’t.

Data Seven nudged Lucas in the backside, shoving him closer to the table.

“Okay, I get it,” said Lucas, and sat down in the other chair.

That got a satisfied chuff and a nod. Then the big cat gave Cybersix a long, complicated look. He flicked his tail three times, and with a bound was gone, over the low fence around the patio and then up to a nearby roof and out of sight.

“I don’t know what got into him,” said Cybersix, turning back to Lucas. Then she smiled. “I guess I don’t mind, though.”

He immediately smiled back. “Yeah. There are worse ways to spend an evening.”

Cybersix nodded. “Yeah.”

The waiter turned up again just then, and Lucas ordered his own drink. They ended up getting food, too, and a few more drinks, chatting away comfortably, in a way that Lucas seldom got to. He could only think of a handful of people he’d clicked with like that, mostly fellow teachers, like Adrien. He and the strange heroine should have nothing at all in common, but somehow they never ran out of things to say.

Indeed, it took the cafe closing to get them to halt their conversation.

“Guess we’d better go, the busboy is giving us the stink eye,” said Lucas, grinning.

Cybersix laughed. Lucas tried not to think too much about how incredibly sexy her husky laugh was. “Yes, can’t risk the wrath of the waitstaff. Here, I’ll pay for everything.”

“Oh no, my treat, really.” Lucas pulled out his wallet, and was gratified when Cybersix let him pay. He was still mentally avoiding the word “date” but it kept flitting around the edges of his mind. He hadn’t invited her, but still… A man should pay for a woman, shouldn’t he?

As they walked out of the cafe together, Lucas had a strong urge to take Cybersix’s hand. He didn’t give in to it, the fear of her reaction was at least as strong. But he felt it all the same.

When they reached the street they both halted. Lucas felt off-balance, uncertain. What was he supposed to do now?

“Well, ah… This was…good?”

He jumped on the opening. “Yes! You’re good company, even when you’re not beating up abominations of science.”

She laughed at that. “I’m glad! But, ah… I probably should go. The abominations are still out there.”

“Yeah.” Neither of them moved. Lucas wanted so badly to step in, to put his arms around her, to kiss her. Cybersix shifted awkwardly and licked her lips.

“Well… Uhm. I guess this is goodnight, then?” she said.

“Guess it is. See you…later?”

“See you later.” She flashed a smile, took a step back, then made one of those absurd leaps up to the roof of the building that stood across the street from the cafe, an was gone into the night.

****

The following Friday, Lucas was surprised to see Data Seven again. The panther gave him another firm sleeve tug. “Dinner out again, huh?” he said, feeling strangely delighted that the previous week’s oddness would be repeated. Data Seven nodded.

“Okay. Lead the way.”

Cybersix was waiting for him again, a smile on her face. Lucas found himself grinning like an idiot at her. He wasn’t quite sure what was going on here, but he wasn’t going to complain about it.

They ate, and talked, and laughed together, and all the while Lucas felt his pulse going just a little faster than normal, his cheeks flushed just a bit more than normal. He found himself looking at Cybersix’s hand whenever she laid it on the table, wanting desperately to put his own hand over it.

No matter how he tried to focus on the conversation, or the food, or anything else at all, his eyes went back to her hand each time it rested there. She was so close, close enough to touch, and he wanted to so very badly.

He looked up and met her eyes, a wry smile crooking her mouth. She’d noticed the stare, he was sure of it, and for a moment Lucas was sure he’d been acting like a creep, like an idiot, like a lovesick schoolboy.

Then Cybersix put her hand over his.

Lucas’ heart leapt at the touch. It was electric, even so small a thing as that.

Cybersix didn’t do anything else, and Lucas didn’t dare to, but she kept her hand there until it was time for them to leave.

“Ah, we should go before they start glaring at us again,” she said eventually, and finally pulled her hand away.

Lucas managed, somehow, to not let out a regretful sigh. “Yeah.” He got up, then looked back at Cybersix. “Uhm. I imagine we’ll be here again next week?”

She laughed. “Yes, I imagine so. Data Seven seems quite determined about that.”

“Well… Tell him thanks, then. This is nice.”

“It is, yeah. But I have things I need to do.”

“Same here. Tests to grade, you know?”

“Yeah.” She gave him an odd look at that, one he couldn’t interpret. Then she reached out and gave his hand another squeeze.

A moment later she was gone, and Lucas let out that sigh he’d been holding on. This was great, but it was also driving him crazy. Were they dating or not? His mind spun in circles around all this as he walked back to his apartment.

Confused or not, though, Lucas turned up at the cafe the next week without needing Data Seven to fetch him.

They ate and talked and laughed together, ignoring the occasional stares. Lucas kept having to remind himself his food was there. He was normally deeply interested in food, but Cybersix was much more interesting.

After a while they had finished the meal, though they both nursed their drinks, delaying their inevitable parting. Cybersix rested her hand on the table again, and this time Lucas dared to put his over it. She smiled and threaded her long, strong, delicate fingers through his blunt, ordinary ones.

They lingered this time until the cafe’s staff were cleaning around them, and finally left, still holding hands. On the street in front of the cafe, nearly empty at this late hour, they paused. Reluctantly, Lucas untangled their hands and took a half step back. “Well…”

“Guess we should say goodnight.”

“Yeah, I—ack!” Lucas let out a yelp and stumbled forward as something nudged him very firmly in the back of his legs. Cybersix caught him, displaying the strength that seemed so at odds with her slender form.

“Data Seven! What are you—” She too was cut off as the panther wove himself around the pair in a rapid circle, thwarting any attempt she might have made to let go of Lucas. “Uhm…” Their faces were now inches apart, with her still supporting him as Lucas awkwardly tried to regain his balance.

Lucas finally got his feet under him, but Data Seven wreathed another circle around the two, insisting they stay close. “Er,” he said awkwardly.

Cybersix gave a nervous little laugh, her cheeks red, her arms still around Lucas.

With his heart pounding in his chest, Lucas started into her eyes. He licked his lips, his entire focus on her, her closeness, the contrasting strength and softness of her embrace. She looked back, seeming entranced. He could feel her tremble, and some part of him was shocked that someone as as strong as her could tremble. Part of him, though, knew that it couldn’t be distaste or rejection. It might be fear, but it was the fear he felt, of the uncertainty of all this, of the unknown if they took the next step. What it also might be, though, was desire, even need, and as the moment stretched out he finally couldn’t take his own aching need any longer.

He leaned in, closing that last inch between them, and kissed her.

It was a long time later when they broke apart. Data Seven had, at some point, stopped wreathing himself around them.

Still, they didn’t draw apart. Cybersix had fisted both hands in Lucas’s coat, and he had wrapped his arms around her too. They looked at each other from inches apart, both flushed, both breathing fast.

“Well, er,” said Cybersix, shifting, her grip slackening.

“Well.” Lucas almost wanted to dive in for another kiss, but he dared to suggest something he wanted even more. “Come back to my place for a nightcap?”

Cybersix blinked at him for a moment, obviously startled, then smiled. “Sure, I’d like that.”

Lucas felt a euphoric rush and grinned at her. “Good. That’s good. Great! Uhm. Shall we, then?” He finally took a step back, letting go of her. She let him, her own grip loosening in turn. He took her hand, though, and felt warmth wash through his whole being as she once again threaded her fingers with his.

“I think we shall!” she said, smiling, squeezing his hand.

Lucas squeezed back, thinking he was the luckiest man in the world.

“Though there are a few things I should mention,” said Cybersix, making his stomach clench.

“Huh?” Was there something wrong, then?

She smiled. “Just, I’m not quite a normal human woman, as you may have noticed.”

“Oh. Yeah. I don’t mind.” He smiled at her. “Strong women are great by me.”

She laughed. “It’s a bit more than that, but I’m glad. Come on. I’ll tell you the rest as we go.”

“Sounds good.” He squeezed her hand back, and the two of them walked off into the night, together.

On the cafe’s rooftop, Data Seven smiled a feline smile, a smug expression on his face. He knew very well that if he hadn’t intervened, the two needy, clueless bipeds would never have gotten together. He watched them walk off, a purr rumbling through him, and a deep satisfaction filling him at the sight of a job well done.

**Author's Note:**

> If you'd like to see me talk about writing, my works in progress, other creative endeavors, and my life in general, check out [my Dreamwidth blog](https://bladespark.dreamwidth.org/) or my [twitter](https://twitter.com/bladespark).


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